Marionette
by TrillCat
Summary: Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Marionette** **  
** _Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU  
Disclaimer: M for language at the moment  
Cover Image by: Abalixa on Deviantart  
_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

Her roommates didn't really like him, which was why he was currently slipping through her bedroom window at 11 o'clock at night on a Thursday.

She had started leaving it slightly ajar when she realized he no longer preferred being let in through the front door.

Sasuke, for lack of better words, was a bit of a loose cannon. He had a temper that he did not appropriately keep in check on most days, and on others he had certain recreational habits that her roommates did not approve of in excess. (Though he liked to argue with her that those habits were partially responsible for keeping his temper at bay).

She was currently sprawled out on her plush queen-sized bed, engrossed in a current events article she was reading on her phone. If she had heard him come in, she had yet to acknowledge it. He unceremoniously kicked off his sneakers and made his way towards her.

The dim lighting in her room encased his face in shadow as he stood over the end of her bed watching her. After a couple minutes she lifted her eyes from the small screen she was so preoccupied by and gave him a questioning stare.

"What?" she asked.

He smirked and took her acknowledgement as an invitation to crawl over her body and invade her personal space. An inch away from her nose, he silently stared into her green irises. She raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"Nothing," he said as he fell to the side nearest the wall.

"Then don't distract me!" she exclaimed.

She went back to her article as he raised his upper body to remove his white shirt. Tossing it off the bed near his shoes, he lay back down and looked over her shoulder at what she was reading. The material of his loose basketball shorts was sticking to her bare thigh, but she ignored it.

"You're reading about my brother?" he seethed as he abruptly snatched her phone.

She turned her head towards him as he hastily scrolled to the top of the write-up. A scowl marred his handsome features as a photo of his elder sibling stared back at him. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Fuck that guy," he said as he locked the device. Reaching over her, he placed it on her nightstand. She sighed at his childish reaction and turned to her right to switch off the bedside lamp. The streetlight outside cast a faint glow over his scowling features as she turned back towards him. She couldn't help but suppress a snicker. He turned into a little bit of a brat whenever the subject of his successful sibling was breached in his presence.

Sasuke was a little spoiled. It came as a result of growing up with money. His parents had paid for a year of his college tuition in full, yet he had failed out after only a semester and a half. Though he liked to brag to her that he aced every exam, the issue was that he never showed up to class. "Why should I, if I don't need to?" he would retort.

Itachi had grown up before their family came to prominence, and as a result his achievements and attitude towards life vastly differed from his. It was this that Sakura found intriguing. When the article mentioning the elder Uchiha had popped up on her feed, she couldn't help but click on it.

"Oh come on," she said. He scowled for a little longer as he penetrated her with his stare, both of them lying on their sides facing one another. He then abruptly reached over and pinched her exposed thigh, hard.

"OW!" she yelped. She slapped his hand away. "Stop that."

Incensed, she tried to turn over and face away from him. Before she could move, he slipped his hand under the back of her loose shirt (his shirt) and brought her closer until they were chest to chest. Since she was only wearing a pair of black silk panties, his action had exposed her rear, but neither of them paid this any mind.

Tucking her head under his chin, she felt his Adam's apple as he swallowed. "You're annoying," he mumbled. His voice had dropped an octave in preparation for sleep, and she could feel it vibrate through his chest onto hers. She tugged on the longer hair at the back of his head, but otherwise didn't respond. Nuzzling her nose into his neck, she inhaled his masculine scent.

"Where were you?" she whispered. He seemed tired and she wondered what he had been doing prior to his arrival.

"Around," he responded softly.

She dropped the subject. Lately he had been rather elusive when it came to his whereabouts, but she thought nothing of it. She had been swamped with wrapping up her finals in preparation for commencement. While Sasuke had fallen off early on, Sakura was so close to getting her degree that she could taste it. Just a couple more weeks.

* * *

The shrill ringing of her phone jolted both of them awake. Burrowing further into him she tried to feign sleep and ignore it, but the sound would not cease. He grumbled and squinted his eyes at the harsh morning sunlight now emitting from the window.

"Who the fuck is calling you?"

He blindly reached behind her to silence her phone, but as he lifted it he saw the caller name on the screen. Sluggishly tapping accept, he brought the phone to his ear.

"Naruto."

"What are you doing answering Sakura's phone, bastard?!"

The loud mouthed idiot was much too energetic, and Sasuke found himself distancing the device from his still sensitive ear.

"What do you want?"

"I have to meet him for brunch," Sakura muttered tiredly.

Giving no more heed to the conversation, she turned over. Her back now facing him, he eyed her silhouette before tuning back into the chatterbox on the line.

"...you're a real dickhead you know that? We have plans! And I need to know what to-"

"Call back later," he cut off.

"What the-hey wait, Sasu-"

Quickly thumbing the end call button, Sasuke put the phone on silent and uncaringly tossed it to the floor.

* * *

They were awoken an hour later by an incessant pounding on the front door. "What is that?" she asked groggily. From behind her, Sasuke tightened his grip on her waist. They heard Ino angrily stomping from her room to the entrance of the apartment, effectively putting a stop to the banging by swinging the door open so hard it ricocheted off the wall.

"I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" they heard her screech.

"Where's Sakura?" Naruto.

Sakura could just imagine the death glare Ino was probably giving him at that very moment. Suddenly the door to _her_ room was swinging open and Ino was screeching at her instead.

"Sakura, I swear to god if this jackass wakes me up one more ti-when did HE get here?!"

Noticing the dark haired Uchiha shacked up behind her roommate had her changing course.

Before Sakura could respond, Naruto shoved Ino to the side and barreled into the room. Pointing his finger right at her he said, "I'm not pointing fingers, but you were supposed to meet me half an hour ago!" he exclaimed.

"What time is it?" she asked blearily.

Ino, realizing she was now being ignored, threw her hands up with a frustrated growl and exited the room.

"Ungrateful...stupid...forehead."

The slamming of her door shook the walls of the apartment.

"HEY, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Their normally silent and aloof third roommate, Nara Shikamaru, had been roused by the pandemonium.

* * *

After shooing Naruto out of her room so she could get dressed, she bent over and picked her phone up off the floor. 10 missed calls from Uzumaki Naruto and one text from Yamanaka Ino. She didn't blame Naruto. She was nowhere near ready and she had left him high and dry for a couple extra hours of sleep in Sasuke's arms. Ino on the other hand, had probably sent her what was sure to be a reprimanding and aggressive message after retreating back to her bedroom.

Now facing the wall, Sasuke had twisted her blanket between his legs and was seemingly back to sleep. She took this as her cue to head towards her en-suite bathroom and quietly shut the door. After sitting on the edge of the tub to adjust the water temperature for her shower, she opened Ino's text before running the tap.

 ** _"What the hell is wrong with you? First I get woken up by that loud IDIOT, then I come into your room and see that jackass all over you?! You told me you weren't seeing him anymore! After everything he's done to you, you just willingly invite him into your bed?! I told you before, I don't want him in my house!"_**

Exasperated, Sakura quickly deleted the message in fear that Sasuke would see it and unleash his wrath. She had caught him looking through her phone on more than one occasion, and subconsciously, she had become cautious about what she kept stored on it.

After all, he was only being curious right?

* * *

 _TBC..  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Marionette** **  
** _Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU  
Disclaimer: M for intercourse. If you are offended by it or uncomfortable, please do not proceed.  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

"This is lame," Sasuke stated as he sat across from Naruto at the restaurant.

They had been seated at a spacious window booth that had a pleasing view of the establishment's grassy patio. The interior of the eatery was warm and earthy, with a farm to table inspired menu. Kitschy yet stylish decor adorned the walls, and yet it somehow felt very clean and put together.

Sasuke had ended up tagging along with them citing lack of better things to do as his reasoning.

"Just cuz we're scholars and you're not, doesn't mean you gotta be butt hurt about it you jerk," was Naruto's smooth reply.

Seated on his right by the window, Sakura saw Sasuke tighten his grip on the rolled up set of silverware he had been in the process of unwrapping.

"What? Little scaredy-cat Sasuke couldn't wake up for class so he pussied out and stopped going to school? Gimme a break you bastard!"

With his stony glare, Sakura knew he was envisioning 500 different ways to strangle Naruto.

"What does it matter? I'm still smarter than you'll ever be." Sasuke responded icily.

Naruto and Sakura were both student reps on the board of directors for their university's various media publications. They had planned to meet for brunch to discuss the outline they would be proposing at the final meeting of their academic careers.

It was bittersweet really, which was why they wanted to commemorate it with a small outing. Terms of service only lasted one calendar year, but they had gained a lot of valuable experience.

Sasuke however, was not interested in the sentiment.

Thankfully the server interrupted them from their impending feud to ask if they were ready for drinks.

"I'll have a Bloody Mary please!" Sakura said cheerfully.

"And for you?" the waitress directed at Naruto.

"Oh. Uh... A mimosa! Do you have those?"

"Sure do. Can I see your ID miss?"

"Um yeah, one second." Sakura rummaged through her bag for her wallet as Sasuke uttered, "Coffee. Black."

Handing her ID to the server, the woman looked at both sides of it, eyeing it a little longer than necessary before handing it back.

"All right, thank you. Those will be out in a bit. I'll give you guys a little more time to look over the menu."

After she was out of earshot, Sakura leaned forward, "How come YOU never get carded?!" she asked exasperated.

"You kinda look like a little girl. I on the other hand, am probably looking pretty manly these days," he stated smugly as he rubbed the subtle, blond five o'clock shadow along his jaw.

"You look more like a loser to me." Sasuke muttered. The napkin that had been wrapped around his knife and fork was now ripped in half on the table.

Before they could start another needless quarrel, Sakura interjected. She dropped a thick-stapled outline on the table in front of Naruto, and from her bag pulled out an extra copy for herself to go over.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, underneath the table she had also rested her palm on Sasuke's knee, stilling the incessant tapping of his foot that had started as a result of Naruto's stabs at his ego.

The rest of the meal was uneventful. Afterwards, they drove Naruto home.

* * *

His favorite way to take her was from the back, as he was doing now. There was something animal and aggressive about it that he couldn't get enough of.

"Sakura..."

She turned her head and peered at him over a dainty shoulder. "H-huh?"

"Straighten out your back."

As she complied, he gripped her hips with renewed vigor and picked up the pace forcefully. He could see her hands fist the sheets in front of her as his new tempo jostled her. With her head now slightly angled backwards, the ends of her farce of a mane glided low, well past her shoulders. Her natural hair had no pigment, and he knew she dyed it regularly. Naruto lived in some sham fantasy land where he liked to prattle on about her being born with pink hair, but Sasuke knew better.

Regardless of that, his vantage point was excellent. Dominating her like this really got him off. He raised his left hand and brought it down on her ass for good measure.

"Are you… are you close yet?" she gasped.

"Do you want me to be?" he responded.

"No, it's just..."

" _What?_ " he asked sharply.

"N-nothing, keep going."

She didn't want to tell him that he was going too deep, that it hurt.

* * *

After what felt like hours, he abruptly pulled out and came on her back. Nudging her forward with his hand she collapsed face down on his bed in a huff. Shakily, her arms wrapped around a pillow as she turned her head to the side to watch him get off the bed and grab a roll of paper towels to clean them off.

Sakura looked at the outline of his broad shoulders. The muscles in his back rippled as he walked away and bent to grab the wayward roll off the floor. She still remembered vestiges of his body as a slim, gangly teenager, and did not miss it.

He looked more full this way and less like the eerie shadow that had followed her around when they were young. Her own figure had developed nicely as well. She had decent curves and a well-proportioned waist, with soft long hair. She hadn't however, really grown in height. He was much taller.

She sighed and stretched her body like a cat as he came back and leaned onto the dark sheets with one knee.

Wiping her off he said, "You didn't finish. Take care of yourself. I'll watch."

She scrunched her nose at him. "What? No!"

Sitting down next to her he grabbed her arm and flipped her over.

"Why? I want to see," he said as he gazed longingly at her naked front.

She sat up and gave him a chaste kiss at the corner of his mouth.

"I don't feel like it," she said as she climbed over him in search of her bra and panties. Knowing it would get him aroused all over again; she denied him, not in the mood for a second rough assault on her body that night.

He watched her struggle for a minute with his brows furrowed, before he fished her underwear out from underneath the sheets with ease.

"Don't sulk," she said as she grabbed it from his hands.

"I don't _sulk_ ," he grumbled, turning his face away.

She stood up to slip her nude colored undergarment up to her hips. On the side of the bed he was sitting on, he had planted his bare feet on the floor. She wedged her way between his open legs.

One petite hand on each knee, she bent to his eye level and whispered, "Yes you do," with a haughty smirk.

He growled and fisted his hand into the long hair at the back of her head. With his other hand he gripped the underside of her thigh and lifted her onto his lap and into a straddle.

She giggled in delight as her hands came to rest on his shoulders and nape. They kissed for a long time.

* * *

Sometime later, after they'd gotten dressed and aimlessly lounged about, he said, "I have to drive you back now."

"Why?" she asked curiously. It was a Friday night, and she had assumed that they would be spending the rest of the evening together.

"I have to be somewhere," he replied.

"Where?"

"Nowhere. Just come on."

She looked at him skeptically before gathering her bag and a loose hair tie that had come undone and fallen to the glossy, dark hardwood of his bedroom.

"There are like 50 of those in my drawer that you've left behind," he remarked.

She followed him out of his large room and through the elaborate property. His home was extravagant, yet the rest of his family was rarely ever there. Business kept them away. He was dressed casually in a plain v-neck and a worn in pair of dark, old jeans with simple shoes. She wondered where he was going.

Instead of heading towards the circular driveway at the front of the house, (where he had parked the sleek, high-end sedan they had been driving in all day) he took her through the back and down a flight of steps into the parking garage.

"Why are we taking the Jeep now?" she asked perplexed as he headed towards the older vehicle.

With his expressive eyes hidden beneath his unruly dark hair, he did not respond.

The distance from his home to her apartment was roughly 20 minutes. As he pulled up and put the car in park, he reached over to open the glove box above her exposed knees. The seat belt had pulled her flowing red summer dress up during the drive. Pulling out an envelope, he dropped it into her lap.

"Here, put this in the mailbox at the corner before you head up."

"Uh, okay. Why didn't you just pull up to it earlier?"

"I forgot," he said simply.

Unfastening her seat belt, she picked up the heavy parcel and the rest of her belongings before giving him a quick kiss on the lips and sliding out the passenger door.

He drove away as she backtracked a short block to drop it off for him.

* * *

 _TBC...  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Marionette  
** _Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU_  
 _Disclaimer: M for alcohol consumption, language and intercourse. If you are offended or uncomfortable by these themes, please do not proceed._

* * *

 **Chapter Three _  
_**

* * *

After she'd fit her key through the lock and pushed open the door, Sakura's eyes were met with a slew of people loitering in various parts of their spacious living room and kitchen. The mood was merry, festive even.

Ino, who had been mid conversation with Tenten, put her champagne flute down and screamed, "SAKURA!"

She rushed towards her as Sakura closed the door.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked as she toed off her shoes.

"Leave those on, the floor is going to get sticky." Then, "We're having an impromptu party! Seniors, seniors, seniors!"

Ino had a slight blush on her cheeks; clearly she had already been drinking for some time. She was basically gushing in excitement. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Ino, some of these people graduated already," Sakura muttered, referring to people like Tenten and Neji. Both of whom were now in a deep conversation over Neji's impending graduate thesis.

"So what? They still live in town, and Neji's about to become like, a doctor. It's cause to celebrate!" Ino squealed.

"Are you guys talking about Neji's PhD?" Choji piped up from his spot on the leather couch.

"Yeah. His Pretty Huge Dick!" Kiba yelled as he vacated Sakura's bedroom.

Sakura could see a vein in Neji's forehead begin to twitch.

"Sakura, I kinda barfed in your bathroom," Kiba added. "I shotgunned too many beers."

He sluggishly plopped himself down next to Choji and attempted to grab some popcorn out of the bowl in the larger man's lap, but Choji, baring his teeth, barked at him to back off.

A look of disgust formed on Sakura's face.

"Wait wha-" before she could fume, Ino had grabbed her shoulders and steered her towards their roomy open walled kitchen.

"Saaaakura, you seem thirsty, here have some punch. I made it just the way you like it!"

Begrudgingly, Sakura accepted the drink and joined in on the small party.

* * *

Three hours and four strong drinks later, Naruto arrived with a case of beer and a weary looking Sasuke in tow. More people had shown up since Sakura had come home and most were mingling happily. By now, Shikamaru had come out from hiding in his room and was leaning against the stove next to her. He rolled his eyes at the sight of Sasuke.

"Great. Uchiha's here. Ino's gonna flip a shit," he muttered.

Sakura, whose back had been turned pouring herself more punch (Ino really did make it just the way she liked it) perked up.

"EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN," Naruto yelled. "You can now officially start the party. The man of the hour has arrived. ME!" He proclaimed as he pointed his thumb at himself.

"You're four hours late, everyone's obviously already wasted and doesn't care you idiot," Sasuke replied.

Wordlessly he grabbed the case from Naruto's hands and headed towards the fridge on Sakura's left to deposit the box.

Sakura eyed his taut arms as he opened the refrigerator and roughly shoved it inside. Tearing open the cardboard he grabbed two cans, and turning back around yelled at Naruto's "loser ass" to pay attention before abruptly throwing the can at his face. From across the room, Naruto caught it with one hand before it could collide with his nose and eyed the dark haired enigma with irritation.

"How about a little more warning next time you cock!" he yelled back.

He sat himself down next to Kiba, who looked like he was going to pass out at any moment. Looking pleased with himself, Sasuke pointed his gaze down to Sakura who was already halfway through her cup.

"How many drinks have you had?" he asked curiously.

A faint pink glow dusted her cheeks and her eyes were beginning to take on a glossy sheen. She put her finger to her chin for a moment, feigning deep thought.

"Three? Four? Five? I dunno, I lost count!" she hiccuped. Questioning him airily, she asked, "I thought you had to be somewhere?"

Ino, having disappeared for half an hour, had popped back into the living room after Naruto's commotion. She had her eyes murderously pinned on Sasuke and began making her way towards them. Shikamaru pushed off the stove and intercepted her before she could make a drunken, nonsensical scene.

"Ino, why don't you start a game for everyone to play or something?" he suggested.

Ino, whose attention span was very short at the moment, suddenly brightened up.

"Yes! Great idea Shika!" she exclaimed.

Sasuke opened his beer and took a large gulp.

Looking back at Sakura he said, "Yeah, I went. And I came back."

Sakura took a step towards him and sniffed. "You smell funny," she murmured.

Naruto, who had by now finished his first beer, overheard her as he pushed Sasuke away from the fridge to grab another.

"That's what I said when he picked me up! Kind of like he set a bunch of shit on fire right?"

Sasuke took another large gulp of his drink and crushed the empty can in his hand.

"Give me another one too," he stated.

"What, you tryina race me?" Naruto asked as he bent over and grabbed two more. "Here." He handed a can off to Sasuke.

"No," Sasuke said slowly. "I have to drive later. I just want one more."

Naruto chortled. "Yeah right, you're totally tryina race me. I'm gonna win. Everyone knows you're a lightweight."

Somehow, he always knew just what to say to push Sasuke's buttons. Looking for all the world like he was about to backhand Naruto, Ino's shrill voice cut over the din, demanding their attention.

"LISTEN UP! Beer pong tournament!"

Naruto yipped in excitement and ran towards her. Giddy like a small child, he jumped up and down in front of her awaiting the rest of her instructions.

"Everyone pick a partner so we can figure out brackets and make this official," she turned to Shikamaru, "And by us figuring out brackets, I mean you."

"Kiba! Wake up! Get the tables out of the supply closet and set them up!"

"Choji! Stop eating! Get the 100-pack of Solo cups out from-"

Sakura stopped listening. "I have to pee first!" she griped at no one in particular. She drunkenly made her way towards her room.

After she had disappeared from his sight, Sasuke placed his unopened beer on the black granite counter. Taking advantage of everyone's distracted attention, he followed.

* * *

As she flushed the toilet she noticed the various spots where Kiba had undoubtedly missed his mark and gotten vomit on.

She wrinkled her nose.

"Ugh, that's filthy. Why wouldn't he clean it?!" she muttered.

After washing her hands, she straightened a few flyaway hairs in the mirror before stepping back into her room, ready to rejoin the party.

Unprepared for the sudden forceful push that had her falling back against the wall, she gasped.

"Sasuke, wha-?"

He grabbed her wrists and flipped her so that her back was facing him. Guiding her hands so that they were flat against the wall, he then took hold of her hips and pulled her lower body towards him, effectively bending her in half.

Being drunk, she was disoriented and a little bit confused. Everything was happening so fast, and the sensations of his hands on her were leaving a torrid burning in their wake.

As he lifted the bottom of her loose dress to expose her panty covered ass, she struggled to put a sentence together.

"W-we already did it today. Wha-what are you doing?" she asked.

He ground his hard-on into her rear and bit her exposed shoulder.

"I want to do it again."

He kicked her legs a little farther apart as she heard him undo the zipper to his pants.

One hand slipped under her underwear to inspect her folds as the other pulled his straining erection from his boxers.

"You're pretty wet," he remarked. "But these are in the way."

Gripping the same nude undergarments from earlier, he roughly pulled them to the side until the fabric tore off her body.

"Hey, those were new!" she said exasperated.

"I'll get you other ones," he murmured as he used his fingers to spread her moisture around her opening.

Her heart was racing, this was not acceptable.

"But everyone's out there! They'll hear!"

"Then stay quiet," he growled.

And with that, he obtrusively slipped into her from behind. She stifled a moan. With one hand gripping her hip, he guided her to meet his demanding and forceful thrusts. He wrapped his other hand into her rosette locks and pulled her head back.

"T-the door..."

"I locked it," he said as he increased his speed.

She was having trouble staying silent. His momentum was driving her crazy and she was fighting a losing battle to stifle the whimpers threatening to escape her mouth.

They could hear the loud chatter of the party as he pulled out and pushed back into her.

With one hand still fisted in her hair, he moved the other from her hip to her clit.

"You're gonna come for me this time," he said into her ear.

"N-nuh."

She could feel her eyes rolling into the back of her head as the finger at her core coupled with the rhythm of his thrusts eventually brought her to a satisfying finish. Silently, she shuddered.

Once he felt her spasming around him, he came inside of her.

He let out a sigh of relief and wrapped both arms around her waist. Her breathing had not returned to normal and her hands were still against the cream colored wall. He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You're still on your birth control right?" he asked softly.

"Y-yes," she responded. "But you've made a mess. This is going to drip out of me for the next hour!" she huffed softly.

He smirked. He knew her rather brazen comment was a product of her inebriation. After lightly kissing her neck, he pulled out of her.

Shakily she pushed off the wall and turned around as he was yanking up the pants that had fallen to his ankles. Her tresses were tousled and the thin strap of her red dress was falling off her shoulder as she surveyed him. She looked thoroughly fucked.

"Where'd you go earlier?" she suddenly asked.

He buttoned his jeans and looked up at her silently. His hair, now longer than it had ever been, was windswept, and she had noticed while he was barreling into her that the faint smell of burning fire had still been eminent on his body.

He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers.

"Don't worry about it."

* * *

 _TBC..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Marionette  
** _Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU  
Disclaimer: M for language and mentions of sex. If you are offended, do not proceed.  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Four _  
_**

* * *

He was her first everything, but she was not his.

In high school, they had gotten in a bad fight right before summer started at the end of their junior year. By the time their last year of school had picked up again in the fall, everyone had heard rumors that he'd been around the block.

That was the start of Ino's disdain for him. While it had all upset Sakura immensely at the time, it did not bother her now.

They had not been involved then. They had just been close friends who cared (a little too deeply) for one another. That in itself was the root of the problem. At 17, neither of them had a full handle of their emotions or an understanding of themselves as people. Their precarious friendship had imploded on itself in a dramatic and public argument that was witnessed by half the student body. She could still remember the shrill tone of her voice as she screamed at him and the hard edge to his face, as if he was contemplating smacking her. Naruto's look of horror as he watched from the sidelines, open mouthed and helpless, was rather unforgettable too. It still mortified her to think about.

He had never been her boyfriend. He hadn't been obligated to stay faithful to her. She knew he made rather stupid decisions when he was angry, and after their fight, sleeping with a handful of older women who weren't her was one of them.

It was hard to say how they'd picked up the pieces from something so damaging. Naruto was largely responsible for their reconciliation. At first he had been respectful. He understood that he had to spend time with them separately from then on. But as their senior year progressed, Naruto got more and more agitated about splitting his time. He missed when all of them could be together without issue.

If he was talking in the hallway to Sasuke, he couldn't wave at Sakura. If he was eating lunch with Sakura, they had to be at least five tables apart from Sasuke. If Sasuke wanted to go to a party, they had to make sure Sakura wouldn't be there. If Sakura wanted to go out for coffee or food they had to avoid all of the spots that they'd have a chance of running into Sasuke.

The list went on and on and eventually Naruto got fed up. Right before their graduation he tricked the both of them into meeting him in an empty classroom and gave them a vigorous and haunting piece of his mind. Throwing in that their selfishness was literally driving him insane might've helped his case too. He had started seeing the school guidance counselor who had eventually referred him to someone that prescribed him low dose anti-depressants.

At present, Naruto no longer needed to take those; but he was still rather close to that counselor. Jiraiya had become somewhat of a mentor to him after that, and Naruto had no hard feelings towards Sasuke and Sakura because of the meaningful relationship he had gained as a result of their idiocy.

At first their armistice had been awkward. Most of their interactions were noticeably forced. But as their summer before college progressed, it became more natural. Soon they fell back into something comfortable. Naruto was more than relieved.

Though the comfort was a little too short lived for Naruto's tastes. A couple months after they started college, Naruto began noticing the pointed looks Sasuke had started directing at their pink haired friend when he thought she wasn't paying attention. That coupled with his total lack of empathy for any guy that approached her (even if it was something as innocent as asking her the time) was a dead give away to Sasuke's desired intentions.

It didn't take long for Sakura to notice it either, and by the start of their second semester she allowed him to take her out on a date.

She had made him wait a year before she gave into his more explicit sexual advances. After what he did, part of her enjoyed seeing him squirm at her continuous denial to all of her body. The tension was palpable and sometimes hilarious. On the inside she would clap with glee at his expense. The other part of her wanted to test him to see if he would break.

Did he just want sex? Was he going to leave her if he didn't get it? Yet it got to a point where she herself was consumed with so much want, that she permitted him to indulge in that sacred piece of herself. It was fiery and deep and explosive and immensely overwhelming. And after their consummation, their fight from years ago made more sense to her. She understood her feelings.

Ino of course had been suspicious of him for that entire period of courtship and nothing he did was going to change her attitude towards him. Dropping out of his program didn't make her think of him any better either.

 _("He's a real keeper Sakura. I can only imagine what you tell your mom when you take him home, 'Hey mom, here's my boyfriend. He barely graduated high school and lives in a giant mansion all by himself because he's mean and his family doesn't love him. He fucked a bunch of 30 year-olds he met on the Internet when he was 17, but I'm okay with it!' Like jeez Sakura, have some self-respect!")_

Ino's official dismissal of all things Sasuke occurred after he had waltzed into their apartment one morning, drunk and high as a kite with a lit joint in his hand. It would have been semi-acceptable on any other day, but Ino and Shikamaru's fathers had stopped by to make sure the property was in good shape for their kids to live in. Needless to say, Ino spent a month trying to convince her father that he had been a lost stranger who had walked into the wrong unit. _"Dad, I would never associate with anyone that gets drunk before noon!"_ (Comically confused at her ejection of him, Sasuke had stumbled around the building and instead climbed in through Sakura's bedroom window, giving her a heart attack before abruptly passing out on top of her).

In the past year he had been getting more aggressive with her, and she wasn't entirely sure why. At first, their sex life had been comprised of a lot of meaningful eye contact, slow fucking and laced hands. He would occasionally murmur that he loved her and would kiss her softly. It made her melt. But gradually, it had evolved into something more primal. He would slap her ass and pin down her arms and pull her hair. He'd bite at her lip and command her to contort her body into bizarre positions to appease his arousal. It made her melt in an entirely different way.

She had a vague suspicion that her blossoming success compared to his lack thereof pissed him off and in turn he channeled that frustration into dominating her in the bedroom. But recently, as he got more and more cryptic with what he was doing when he wasn't with her, she couldn't help but think it was something more. Should she be worried? Was Naruto worried?

More than once Ino had asked her what Sasuke did with all his free time.

"I don't know, something on the computer," she would respond offhandedly.

Because it had been true. At first he had been eager to share some of the random yet useful web-based programming skills he had picked up from hours of research. Before dropping out, he had dabbled in different aspects of computer science so it made sense to her.

But in the last year, he had stopped talking about much of it. He had a couple laptops and a netbook he was bizarrely protective of but that was about it. Any time she caught him absorbed in working on one of them, he would abruptly slam the screen shut and glare at her.

She liked to think that after three years of seriously dating him she understood a lot of his weird quirks more than most. But these new developments in his behavior were throwing her off.

* * *

After brushing her hair and straightening out her clothes, Sakura rejoined the party only to witness one of the beer pong tables haphazardly upturned on the ground. Red cups were littered everywhere and the smell of beer had permeated the air, the liquid quickly drying into the hardwood. Naruto and Kiba were engaged in a heated shouting match over the remnants of the game gone awry, and the rest of the party was adamantly ignoring them by trying to peacefully continue playing at the other table.

Baffled, Sakura made her way towards the kitchen to pour herself a large glass of water. She was starting to feel dehydrated and figured that more alcohol was probably a bad idea. Shikamaru's bedroom door was firmly shut; probably finding the beer pong situation to be more troublesome than anything, he had likely retreated to the safety of his oasis.

Ino was happily seated in a pale, dark-haired man's lap on the couch, animatedly jabbering about her dreams and aspirations. As Naruto caught sight of Sasuke vacating Sakura's room (he had waited 10 minutes so they wouldn't arouse suspicion), he turned his attention from Kiba towards him.

"There you are you pussy! I knew you ran off cuz you were too scared to face me in beer pong!"

Sasuke, not biting the bait, pointedly eyed the mess on the floor before approaching Sakura by the kitchen sink.

"I think I want to head home," he said.

Disappointed, Sakura nodded her head in acceptance.

"Do you want to come with me?" he asked. "Your place is a shithole right now."

After a moment of contemplation, she nodded her head again.

"Go pack a bag, I'll wait."

Sakura went back into her room to put together some clothes and toiletries. In her state, she couldn't remember which of her folders had the reading material she needed to review before Monday, so she stuffed all of them into her overnight bag too. She could hear Naruto attempting to goad Sasuke into a frivolous battle again, so she finished quickly and returned to his side. They headed towards the front door together after she discreetly said goodbye to some of the guests.

"Hey, hey! Where are you guys going!?" Naruto yelled. "How am I supposed to get home?" he whined.

"You can sleep on my bed Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, before Sasuke quickly shut the door to drown him out.

Placing his hand on the small of her back, he led her towards his car.

* * *

She woke up in the morning with her insides churning. She was dressed in an over-sized shirt of Sasuke's with nothing underneath. How they had gotten there was a bit of a blur for her. She was appreciative that Sasuke had barely drank anything, but she hazily remembered him having to pull over more than once so she could dry heave out the door of his sleek sedan. _"Why did you switch cars again?"_ she had slurred after righting herself.

Sasuke was next to her clad only in his boxers, sleeping on his stomach. She abruptly shot up and ran towards his luxe, attached bathroom to vomit loudly into the toilet. She groaned in agony as her hands gripped the sides of the dark porcelain. She had not been this hungover in a VERY long time. She was going to kill Ino next time she saw her. By now, her retching had woken up Sasuke, who was leaning against the bathroom door eyeing her bemusedly.

"Too much to drink?" he asked smartly.

She shot him a look of utter contempt. His hair was sleep tousled, but he still looked good. She on the other hand, knew she probably looked like shit. She could feel her eyes watering from the strain on her esophagus.

"Fuck y-" she felt more bile coming up the back of her throat and spit it out.

Sasuke had left his post and returned shortly with a bottle of water. He opened the grandiose medicine cabinet over the chic, double sink vanity and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen. Shaking two pills out, he brought them to her with the water. She accepted them graciously from her spot on the floor.

"Why don't you take a bath?" he said. "I'll go to the store and get stuff to make breakfast."

She eyed him darkly.

"You think I can even think about eating right now?!" Just the thought of food had her stomach twisting into knots.

"It'll make you feel better," he stated firmly. "What do you want?"

She moaned in discomfort. "I don't care, anything. Surprise me."

Flushing the toilet, she struggled to get to her feet. Ultimately she gave up and remained sprawled out on the pristine floor. Sasuke's bathroom was three times the size of hers and much nicer. It had an elevated bathtub (big enough to fit two people comfortably) with a wall behind it comprised entirely of smart glass. At the press of a button, the transparency could be adjusted to clear or opaque. There was also a spacious glass shower with a fancy waterfall shower head. The bathroom walls were a slate gray, and the marble tile on the ground was black.

Now fully dressed, he returned to the bathroom to help her draw her bath. He 'tsked' at her before scooping her up off the ground and seating her on the flat edge of the white tub. He made sure to grab the water bottle too and leave it in reach.

"How hot do you want the water?" he asked as he turned the knobs.

She reached over to place her hand under the running faucet and nodded at him when it was her desired temperature. Plugging the drain, he turned back towards her and helped her raise his shirt up and over her head. He stared at her exposed chest for a second too long before turning to leave.

"Wait!" she yelled.

He stopped in his tracks and inclined his head towards her, signifying that he was listening.

"Didn't I leave some bubble bars here before?" she asked hopefully.

"...bubble bars..." he grumbled.

He opened the mahogany cabinet underneath the sink and pulled out a rather fruity looking wicker basket full of said bubble bars and handed it to her. She pulled at his shirt before he could back away and kissed him on the cheek.

He grinned, "You smell like puke."

* * *

This, she thought, was a great idea. She closed her eyes in happy contentment as the fragrant bubbles soothed her sore body. Once in a while, Sasuke was sweet she thought. _But more_ _often than not_ , _he was a jackass of epic proportions._

As she hummed merrily, she thought she heard faint, approaching footsteps. That was odd. She could have sworn Sasuke had only been gone for 15 minutes tops. The store was at least 10 minutes away. Ignoring it, for she knew no one was home, she leaned her head back against the tile and let out a relaxed sigh.

No... those were definitely footsteps in his room now.

She perked up and stared at the open doorway in apprehension. Hearing her own voice along with a simultaneous deep tenor inquire, "Sasuke?" a sharply dressed Uchiha Itachi stepped into her sight.

* * *

 _TBC..._


	5. Chapter 5

**Marionette**  
 _Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU_  
 _Disclaimer: M for adult themes. If you are offended or uncomfortable, do not proceed._

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

* * *

Sakura yelped and slunk down farther into the large tub. She was thankful for the plethora of bubbles that covered her modesty.

She had met and interacted with Itachi only a handful of times since she was a young girl, and in each of those instances she had most obviously never been naked.

Unperturbed by her state of undress, Itachi took a small and cautious step into the bathroom. His black slacks were crisply pressed and the sleeves of his black button up were meticulously rolled up to his elbows. The top two buttons were undone, and she could faintly spot the glimmer of a silver chain around his neck.

His hair was loosely tied at his nape and the bottom disappeared into the back of his shirt.

His long-lashed eyes had widened a fraction at finding her in there instead of Sasuke, but other than that he did not seem bothered by it.

"Sakura," he said simply.

This was awkward, she thought. She hadn't seen Itachi since she had started dating Sasuke three years ago, and she wasn't sure if he even knew about it. Regardless, she was very wet and very naked and this was her lover's brother, standing there like they were casually discussing the weather.

"Y-yes? Hello," she responded. She could feel her cheeks growing hot.

He cocked his head to the side.

"Where is Sasuke?"

"H-he went to the store to get groceries," she squeaked.

"Ah. I see. I will wait for him downstairs then. I apologize for disturbing your bath."

Tucking his hands into his pockets he turned his dress shoe clad feet and added, "I am a fan of bubble bars myself actually."

With that he exited the room. She heard his footsteps fade into the distance. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, she slumped her shoulders. _That was too much_ , she thought. She grabbed the bottle of water Sasuke had given her earlier, and chugged the rest of it.

* * *

After she had pruned considerably, Sakura got out of the tub and cocooned herself into a soft, over-sized towel from the glass linen cabinet in the corner of the bathroom. Rummaging through her overnight bag, she selected a flowy white shirt with a lace bralette, and a comfortable pair of black shorts to change into. She left Sasuke's bedroom and cautiously headed down the grand staircase.

Approaching the lavish kitchen, the sound of voices caused her to falter around the corner of the wide hallway.

"You could have called," Sasuke's irritated voice carried over.

"You don't answer my calls," Itachi stated.

"Because you call all the time!" he expressed, annoyed.

There was a pause and she heard the clink of a glass being put down on the counter.

"Now how does this conversation make any sense?" Itachi asked.

She could hear Sasuke grumbling under his breath and rummaging through what was most likely the grocery bags containing his purchases.

"I saw Sakura," he added thoughtfully.

Another pause.

"What do you mean you saw Sakura?" Sasuke asked stiffly.

"She was in the bath."

Sakura heard something metal fall to the ground and clatter. As Sasuke most likely bent to pick it up, Itachi continued his rankling.

"Where have you been getting your money recently?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke bit at him.

"Your funds. You have not accepted anything from me for the past six months. How are you buying things, paying the bills? Where is it coming from?" he questioned.

"None of your business," Sasuke ground out.

Surprised, Sakura did not know what to make of this new information. She had assumed Sasuke was being taken care of by his family this entire time. Where was he getting his money if not from Itachi?

She heard Itachi sigh, "I will be staying here for a couple of days. I have things to take care of in town."

"It's your house, do whatever you want," Sasuke said scathingly.

Sakura allowed another minute or two of silence before turning the corner and making her presence known.

Itachi was seated on one of the mod, dark brown bar stools on one side of the long kitchen island. He had poured himself a rather small amount of nice whiskey into a glass, the bottle sitting uncapped on the cream counter. Sasuke on the other hand, was hovering over a pile of groceries he had moved from the counter to the dining table by the kitchen's bay window nook.

Clearly trying to distance himself from his older brother, Sakura noticed the rather frantic way his hands were moving as he diced potatoes for hash browns.

Sasuke glanced at her as she came towards him, before pointing at the other bags.

She fished out the carton of eggs from one bag. Then removed the freezer-paper wrapped packages of bacon and sausage he had no doubt acquired from the butcher.

Knowing Sasuke was too much of a jerk to ask himself, she turned towards Itachi and asked if he was hungry. Sasuke glared at her in distaste.

* * *

As they sat down to eat, Itachi focused his attention once again on Sakura.

"What have you been up to Sakura? I have not seen you in a while."

Sasuke's grip on his knife was worrying, the knuckles on his hand were turning white.

"It has been a while hasn't it?" she mused. "I'm finishing my bachelor's degree in biology. I should be done in a couple weeks," she said.

She couldn't hide the excitement from leaking out of her voice.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and aggressively shoved a piece of sausage into his mouth.

"Congratulations," Itachi murmured. "What are your plans for afterwards?"

Sakura chewed for a moment, picking her words carefully.

"Well I'm kind of intrigued by the biotech industry, but I'm not entirely sure how to get my foot in the door to do it. I might take a break for a couple months and then look for work," she responded.

He ruminated for a while before saying, "I have a number of clients that focus on that kind of research, I can make some introductions if you would like."

Sasuke dropped his utensils on his plate with a clang and loudly pushed his chair back.

Sakura and Itachi glanced at him briefly before choosing to ignore him.

"Oh, that's right! I was actually reading an article about that the other day!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly.

Sasuke stomped out of the kitchen, but not before he whisked the bottle of liquor off the counter and took it with him. They heard his loud steps disappearing down the hall and up the staircase, undoubtedly to seek sanctuary in his bedroom.

Itachi's mouth turned into a subdued frown.

"How is he?" he questioned.

Sakura was not sure how to respond. She thought for a short time, eyeing his face that looked so much like Sasuke's, but at the same time so different. It was more mature and less hateful.

"He-he's been kind of weird to be honest," she said finally, voice hushed.

"Hm. I see," he said pensively.

"You should go up and check on him, I'll take care of these," he finished, gesturing at the plates on the table.

She nodded as she got up, making her way upstairs.

* * *

As she entered his room, she found Sasuke leaning against his headboard, taking swigs from the bottle of whiskey. At this point, it was barely past noon. While Itachi had poured himself a minuscule amount, Sasuke had already cleared one-fourth of the bottle.

"Shut the door," he snapped.

She did as he asked, then cautiously approached him. He was like a wild animal, her instincts told her to run for fear that he would attack. He slowly turned his head to look at her, slamming the bottle down on his dark, oak nightstand with a little more force than necessary.

Any trace of his charming behavior from that morning had long since disappeared with the arrival of Itachi.

"Are you really going to take a job from him?" he asked snidely.

"Huh? I don't know. We were just making conversation," she offered.

"Suck me off," he suddenly demanded.

"What?" she asked surprised.

"I said... Get over here, and suck me off," he repeated.

She eyed him warily. "I spent the whole morning throwing up, I don't think it's a good idea to choke on your dick in my mouth right now!"

He gave her an incredulous look before standing up and reaching towards her.

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her down until she was on her knees in front of him.

She looked up at him in annoyance.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

He put his hand on her cheek, caressing the skin there with his thumb as he looked into her green eyes.

"Very," he said.

Scowling, she timidly brought her hands up to the waistband of his loose black pants and pulled him out. He watched her silently from above. The lace from the bralette covering her cleavage peaked out from underneath her top, effectively turning him on.

His erection was straining, and she placed one hand at his base before taking a tentative lick at the head. Slowly taking more of him in her mouth; she started a slow and comfortable rhythm, bobbing her head back and forth.

With the hand on her cheek now lowered to the side of her neck, he used his other to grip the hair at the top of her head.

"Relax your throat."

As she complied, he began to make quick work of fucking her mouth. Her hands came up to grip the fabric at the edge of his shirt as she shut her eyes and willed herself not to gag.

"Look at me," he said.

As her lashes fluttered open, she peered up at him again. He then guided one of her hands towards the underside of his shaft, placing it over his balls.

She could feel them tightening as she lightly massaged them, signifying that he was close.

His midnight eyes hooded in pleasure, he pulled out of her mouth without warning and came on her face.

She gasped in shock.

"Sasuke! What's your problem?!" she huffed, blinded. Pushing off her knees in agitation she quickly went into his bathroom to wash it off. She brushed her teeth for good measure, and coming back into the room found him once again relaxed on his mattress, looking smug.

She shook her head at him in disbelief and grabbed her folders from her bag before approaching the bed and lying down on her stomach at his feet. He lifted his legs and rested them on her backside.

"You brought homework?" he asked.

"Yes. I have a final next week," she said curtly.

Closing his eyes, he dozed off as she studied.

* * *

 _TBC..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Marionette  
** _Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU **  
**Disclaimer: M for intercourse and mentions of drug use. If you are offended by these themes, please do not proceed.  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Six _  
_**

* * *

After she had been studying for a while, her eyes had slowly started to droop. Sasuke had not stirred since she had planted herself there and the lull in intensity was a welcome change. _Maybe he should drink a quarter bottle of whiskey and get a blow job more often if it's going to sedate the shit out of him_ , she thought. Still feeling off from the previous night's debauchery, she had rested her head in her crossed arms and promptly fallen asleep.

When she next awoke, it was dusk. Through the skylight on the high ceiling, the setting sun had bathed the room in a warm glow. She blinked her eyes open and turned her head to the side, finding Sasuke's sleeping face mere inches away from her own. At some point he had reoriented himself so that he was next to her at the foot of the bed. Lying on his side facing her, his long legs hung off the edge of the mattress. His left hand was loosely tucked underneath his chin, while his right was resting in the small space between their bodies. Her folders were no longer in front of her, he had moved them to the floor.

She turned towards him and studied his face as he slept. Noting that he looked less and less like the broken little boy she grew up with and more like a man that had been haphazardly glued back together, she eyed the sharpness of his features; the slope of his patrician nose and the length of his sooty eyelashes.

Almost as if he had felt the weight of her stare in his sleep, the hood of his eyes lifted partially and he stared back at her from behind his half-lidded retinas.

Slowly he brought the hand that had been resting between them up to her face, lightly caressing her skin with his fingertips. It ghosted down the column of her throat, brushing past her chest and sternum until it came to rest on her abdomen.

"...love you," he said.

Smiling softly, she leaned forwards and rubbed her nose against his before pecking his lips.

"I know."

Moving his hand to her lower back he pulled her over and flipped them so that she was resting on his torso.

She pressed her ear into his chest, listening to the slow beat of his heart as his blood pumped through it. Picking up her head, she brought her hand to his face, and gingerly, began kissing him. Resting one hand on her lower back and the other near her shoulder blade, he embraced her as he lazily kissed her back, allowing her to lead.

She pulled away for air and ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his eyes and forehead. From this close up his heterochromia was more apparent, one dark eye a slightly different hue than the other.

Slowly, he became more alert and watched her movements carefully.

Pushing back from him a little, she sat up on his middle. Adjusting to her new position, his palms dropped from her back to her hips. With a grip on each side of her, his hands almost met behind her, making her feel small as she straddled him.

Feeling heat between her legs, she maintained eye contact with him and slowly ground herself into his crotch. The hands at her hips tightened momentarily before becoming slack, but otherwise he did nothing but gaze back at her.

Starting a steady rhythm of sensually moving her hips in a circle over him, she moved her hands to grip his forearms.

After a couple minutes he began responding by matching her movement with a subtle upwards thrust into her center. She could feel him hardening through his pants. Suddenly she couldn't get enough of feeling him against her, and her movements became rather frantic.

He grinned lopsidedly for a second before stilling her and telling her to slow down.

"I just woke up," he said, his voice still laced with sleep. "I'll end up finishing before you can even start if you don't."

She pouted at him cutely before ripping off her shirt and shorts. Underneath, her panties matched the black lace bralette over her chest.

He could see her nipples hardening through the lace and brought his hands up to pinch and pull at them.

She moaned softly before batting them away and tugging at his shirt, wordlessly telling him she wanted it off. He lifted his torso to pull it off then lay back down.

She ran her hands up his chest and squeezed before deciding she was through with foreplay and wanted him inside of her.

"Are you wet enough?" he asked as she pulled at his pants and boxers, releasing him.

He kicked his pants off his legs, then pushed back her underwear with his finger and dipped it into her slit.

"Yes," she said as she watched his face darken.

He helped her remove her panties before she guided his length towards her entrance.

Lifting her hips up from his body, she brought them down and impaled herself on him with a gasp.

His eyes fluttered shut as she began riding his dick. Again he brought a hand up to her breasts and pinched, this time she let him.

With her hands on his shoulders, she lifted herself up and down at a comfortable pace. Every so often she rotated her hips in a circular motion, satisfied by the sound of his sharp inhalation at the movement.

As he noticed her begin to tire, he flipped them so he was on top. Still inside of her, he laced their fingers together and gently pinned her arms above her head before he began moving. He went slowly, taking his time.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and let him rock them both to completion.

* * *

As she lie across his chest, basking in the serenity of their post coitus afterglow, he said, "Ino called you like five times."

"When?" she asked

"I don't know, I turned your phone off because it was annoying and I was trying to sleep."

She glared before demanding him to give her the device.

He sat up and reached into the drawer of his nightstand. Pulling out one of her hair ties, he playfully flung it at her before retrieving her phone and plopping it into her lap.

"Real cute," she muttered as she powered it on.

Five texts from Yamanaka Ino. One voicemail message. Six missed calls.

What was going on?

She opened the texts first.

 **04:00am: "Skua whr uo go? Why is narutsard in ur bdd"**

 **10:30am: "Sakura!"**

 **11:00am: "Hey, call me when you see this."**

 **02:00pm: "I'm getting annoyed, pick up the phone"**

 **03:00pm: "YOU BETTER COME HOME AND HELP ME CLEAN THIS SHIT UP, OR ELSE"**

Her voicemail pretty much said the same thing.

She looked up at Sasuke and said, "I think I have to go home, Ino needs help fixing the trashed apartment."

"Maybe it's been cleaned already, ask her before you make me drive you all the way back," he suggested.

He swung his legs over the bed and stood up, stretching his lean arms over his head.

"I'm gonna shower," he yawned as he disappeared into his bathroom.

After quickly texting Ino to ask, she scrambled to join him. The stickiness between her legs and sheen of sweat on her skin was irritating and they had not showered together in a long time.

His back was turned under the spray of water as she tiptoed into the bathroom. Yanking her bralette off and dropping it to the floor, she approached the spacious shower and rapped on the glass.

He inclined his head to the side before waving his hand at her to join him.

As she stepped into the steam he guided her so her smaller form was situated in front of him. She leaned her back against his wet front. They both liked their showers hot.

"Want me to wash your hair?" he asked.

"No. You got it all tangled last time," she said as she smoothed down the now wet strands.

"That's because I was trying to piss you off," he said nonchalantly.

Looking over her shoulder, she glared at him for the umpteenth time.

He grinned before reaching above her head for shampoo. Moving them backwards a step so they were out of the water stream, he squeezed some liquid out before putting it back. His hands working the lather into her hair was comforting and she closed her eyes in contentment.

* * *

After they had washed one another and returned to his room, she checked her phone and told him that Ino had indeed refused to clean the mess without her.

He sighed in irritation as he toweled off and went towards his dark drawers to pull out clean boxer briefs.

"Fine, get dressed," he said.

* * *

After he had dropped her off, she entered the apartment to find it in even worse a state than when she had left.

It wreaked of stale beer with empty cans and cups littered everywhere.

"Ino!" she yelled.

"What? What?!" she grumbled, popping her head out of her and Shikamaru's shared bathroom.

They had been close friends since they were children (going as far as having embarrassing photos of them bathing together as toddlers in their underwear) and as such did not mind sharing the space. For nostalgia's sake, one of these photos was framed and hung over their toilet.

"What the hell is this? If you had cleaned it sooner it wouldn't smell this bad and the beer would have been easier to get out of the floor!" she exclaimed as she almost dropped her bag on the counter. Thinking better of it after eyeing the surface, she went into her room to deposit it.

Based off a quick scan, Naruto hadn't done anything too damaging in there, though she had yet to inspect her bathroom.

Coming back into the living room, she saw that Ino had procured a mop and bucket and was in process of measuring out an adequate amount of floor cleaner.

"Well, I'm not gonna suffer alone," Ino said in irritation. "This is grotey."

"It was your party," Sakura muttered under her breath as she pulled a couple garbage bags out of the supply closet.

Separating one for recycling and one for trash she began picking things up off the floor.

"Who cares? You live here too!" Ino said. "Shikamaru ran off around noon and hasn't come back. That jerk, probably too lazy to clean. And YOU disappeared. Where have you been all day?" she questioned.

Sakura eyed a particularly questionable liquid floating in an abandoned cup before tossing it and muttering that she was with Sasuke.

"What a surprise," Ino grumbled as she began mopping the areas Sakura had cleared.

After a moment's pause Sakura shared, "Itachi walked in on me in the bathtub."

"WHAT?!" Ino screeched. "Spill, tell all! Did he hop in there with you and whisk you away into hot older brother land making you forget all about that loser Sasuke? Did you moan in ecstasy at his skilled hands and scream 'YES, YES, YES!'" she asked excitedly.

Shikamaru chose that moment to walk into the apartment... Then promptly walked right back out.

The girls looked at each other and giggled.

Shaking her head with a faint blush Sakura said, "No Ino, my life isn't a soap opera. I'm not having torrid threesomes with Sasuke and his brother. He just wanted to know where Sasuke was and I told him he went to get groceries. That's about it."

Ino's expression first morphed into glee. "Who said anything about threesomes you slut!?"

Sakura could feel her face burning. _That's not what she had meant!_

Ino then pouted in disappointment. "Whatever. That is so not hot. Groceries? Come on Sakura, tell me you showed him a little thigh!"

"Ino!" she said exasperated. "He's my boyfriend's brother, it's not an option. And even if it was, I'm faithful," she huffed as she tied up the full garbage bag.

"Well your boyfriend's a loser and his brother is not so womp, womp. Honestly Sakura, you deserve so much better than him!"

Sakura could feel herself getting irritated at the direction the conversation was going in.

"You don't get it," she said softly. She went towards the kitchen to get disinfectant wipes from underneath the sink. As she cleaned off the counter, Ino silently finished mopping.

* * *

That Monday, after she'd sat through a particularly grueling final, she found herself walking across the campus quadrangle in a daze. The sun was blinding her and she'd forgotten her sunglasses, but the early summer breeze was nice against her skin.

She was adjusting her tote on her shoulder when she heard Naruto's voice yelling for her attention on a patch of grass up ahead.

He was drinking a smoothie and sitting with Kiba, who had his dog sprawled across his lap. Both had a lecture 30 minutes prior in an adjacent building, she knew. Kiba's apartment was not very far so he walked Akamaru on the quad frequently. He must've grabbed him after class.

Sakura plopped down next to Naruto and immediately reached for his smoothie. She was thirsty.

"As I was saying," Kiba stated, "It's a website, where you can buy anything."

Naruto looked at him like he had grown two heads.

"You mean like Amazon?" he asked baffled.

"No you idiot. I know how to use fucking Amazon," Kiba said irritated.

"I mean. Like _anything_ ," he repeated. Raising his eyebrows and giving Naruto a look.

"Anything?" Naruto questioned.

"Anything," Kiba affirmed.

Sakura slurped on the smoothie before saying, "What, like drugs?"

Kiba looked at her excited.

"Drugs, porn, guns, mercenaries, poisons, organs, complex hacking tutorials, fake watches, elephant tusks... You name it, they've got it," he said rapidly. "Shino was trying to find a rare bug venom online, found out about it, and told me."

Naruto looked at him in wonderment.

"What? How is that possible? And also ew, why would you mention organs you freak?"

Kiba rolled his eyes at him.

"I'm just telling you what they have. I don't want to order organs you asshole." He continued, "It's like... An online black market. People sell stuff anonymously and you can buy and pay for it anonymously. Except I have no idea how it works or how to use it," he said, put out.

Just then, Shikamaru approached from behind them. He had been trudging up the walkway and by the sad slump of his ponytail, was most obviously in need of a good lay down and a cigarette.

Sure enough he dropped his backpack into the grass near them and propped his head on it. Staring up at the clouds he lit up a square and blew the smoke out.

Handing Naruto back his smoothie Sakura asked, "Don't you have a final right now?"

"Finished early," he said between puffs.

As if that set off a light bulb off over Kiba's head, he turned to the smoking genius.

"Hey Shikamaru!" he said excitedly. "You're smart aren't you? You would know how to use it! Have you heard of The Hidden Mist?"

Looking bored, Shikamaru took another puff before saying, "Yeah, I've heard of it."

Naruto intrigued, perked up.

"So how does it work?" Kiba continued.

Looking at Kiba and Naruto, he put out his rapidly diminishing cigarette before pulling out another one and tucking it behind his ear.

"You have to use a special browser to access it. The site is located in the Dark Web. The browser encrypts your IP address. It's troublesome and too much effort," he said briefly.

"In English brainiac," Naruto said confused.

"You guys are the two dumbest possible people to explain this to," Shikamaru grumbled. "Okay think of it this way. Encryption is a way to make data more secure. With me so far?"

They nodded.

"When you use a normal browser, you visit a website and that website will record your user data. Stuff like where you're located and what browser and hardware you're using. They get that from your network's IP. Following?"

Kiba nodded, but Naruto took an extra minute to descramble it all in his head before agreeing.

"Your IP is your computer's unique numerical label. That's how computers connect with each other to share data in the first place. The router your computer connects to represents your network. Your IP connects to that and the router's network IP connects to the Internet beyond."

By now Shikamaru was in full out lecture mode. He was a teaching assistant after all, and secretly enjoyed it immensely.

"If someone like the government or a really skilled hacker got a hold of your network's IP address, they could use it to find out more about you and what each computer on your network is doing. Like what other sites you're looking at, what you're downloading, credit card info you've entered for purchases, how you're spending your time online and more."

Kiba looked thoughtful for a moment. "So you're saying that special browser you need to get to The Hidden Mist encrypts all that personal data so the government can't trace anything back to you?"

"Pretty much," Shikamaru said. "It jumbles your identifiers through thousands of different networks and servers, making your web activity secure and anonymous. But simply put, it's a pain in the ass."

Kiba looked crestfallen. "Man I thought all our weed drought problems were solved. I knew it was too good to be true. A website that sells anything my ass."

Naruto, still half confused said nothing. He kind of got it? But he didn't? He looked at Sakura, "Did you understand that?"

"Kind of," she said thoughtfully. She turned to Shikamaru.

"Something like that would still have risk wouldn't it?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. "It's first of all, absurdly illegal. The site has moderators who keep everything moving and settle disputes, but no one really knows who they are in real life. There's one guy on there who people think is like a God, it's assumed he created the site. But it's like, if he was able to navigate the Dark Web to create such an untraceable black market in the first place, there's definitely someone out there who can navigate it to figure out who he is too."

Sakura hadn't thought anything like that even existed.

"So you've used it!" Naruto accused.

"Just to see if I could," he said offhandedly. "The Internet has layers and I was bored, so I looked into how to peel one of those layers back."

Kiba got up, rousing his dog and dusting himself off.

"Well, there goes that," he said disappointed. He started heading home.

Naruto got up to join him, since they lived in the same direction. He lingered for a moment.

"I'm still confused, but whatever. I'll make Kiba explain on the walk," he said, scratching his head. "Bye guys!" he waved before walking off.

"They're idiots," Shikamaru said. "If they even tried to use that site, I'd bet they'd fuck up and get caught getting stuff shipped to their apartments."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There's been a lot of seizures. Government finding product coming in the mail from overseas and arresting who it's being shipped to, users getting two timed by undercovers posing as sellers. Stuff like that. It's just not worth it."

"Weird," she said. They sat outside in silence.

* * *

 _TBC..._


End file.
